Rumor has it that Charlotte is looking to make a trade to shake things up. Three guys mentioned as off the table are Jefferson, Walker, and MKG. However, it looks like Stephenson isn't having a good time there and is potentially available. And it looks like Charlotte is in the market for a PF. Well, we're looking for a backup SG/SF type and Stephenson is young potential star who could turn into a huge contributor for us. He's 24 years old. In spite of shooting terribly for the Hornets, he is grabbing 7.7 rebounds and dishing out 5.4 assists per game. In Thibs' offensive system, he might turn into a monster of a player. He's got a reputation for being a very good defender, which isn't a bad thing. The risk is you'd have to pay him prorated $9M this year, and $9M for next season. Who do we have that might be a fair trade for him? Taj. With the emergence of Mitotic as a perfectly fine 3rd big man for the rotation, we can fill Taj's minutes. Taj makes $8M. A straight swap works.
We could do such a trade at deadline. I really feel, if Mirotic continues to play the way he as played, Gibson could and probably will be moved for a wing player.
Michael Jordan would kiss John Paxson full on the mouth if he could get Gibson for Stephenson straight up. FWIW, I don't think GarPax are unhappy with their current roster and, barring an injury, I'll be surprised if the Bulls make a trade involving a regular rotation player. Sent from my Venue 8 Pro 5830 using Tapatalk
Hopefully they won't talk down Taj's value. I would have agreed with you except Mitotic is proving he can handle 30+ minutes and is a more than capable replacement. As we've seen, doing well in the regular season doesn't necessarily translate to a visit to the finals.
MiRotic has played 30+minutes exactly once. MiRotic has been bad to meh in more than half of his NBA games. Folks should just kind of chill for a month of so and see how things (and players) develop. Sent from my Venue 8 Pro 5830 using Tapatalk
This is my take as well. Taj is the second longest tenured guy on the team, and is a legit 2-way player in the playoffs. It's very unusual to trade someone like that mid-season on a title contender assuming there are no locker room issues with him. You have a lot at stake if something goes wrong, or if Stephenson takes a while to adjust to the new team. A Gibson for Stephenson trade makes sense, but it's the kind of trade that happens in the offseason IMO. I think the Bulls will look to address backup SG/SF, but will look to go dumpster diving in the Vet. Min scrap heap to do it.
Last year, ECF Pacers traded for Evan Turner at the trade deadline. The Warriors traded for Steve Blake. The Wizards traded for Andre Miller. In 2013, the Grizzlies traded Rudy Gay for Tayshaun Prince (in a package including others). A few years back, the Bulls were supposedly close to dealing Boozer and Deng for Garnett and Pierce because management's assessment of the team was that it couldn't win a title as constituted. In hindsight, maybe they should have made the trade. We are 7-2 in games Rose has played. We are 4-4 in games he has not. Taj is really good, but not a difference maker. Look at how great he was in the Wizards' playoff series last year and how that turned out for the team.
Evan Turner, Steve Blake, and Andre Miller are all end of rotation guys. Acquiring them is closer to signing a vet. min guy than trading a major cog for another major cog. Rudy Gay was getting in the way of what the Grizzlies wanted to do, both financially and on the court. Taj is on a good contract and fits in very well here. We got trounced by the Wizards despite Taj's great play, because we had no one else who could create shots for themselves and Jo was playing on one knee.
The calculus is do we need Taj's great play as 3rd or 4th PF off the bench and no one else who can create shots for themselves (except Jimmy), or a proven creator who plays at a position we have no depth. Consider what happens if 34 year old Dunleavy Jr. can't go. The guy you say is clueless on the court (Snell) or the 2nd coming of Adam Morrison plays huge minutes. Consider what happens if 29 year old Taj can't go. Mitotic plays more minutes or the guy you say is most NBA ready of our rookies gets burn. Andre Miller was a key player for the Wizards against us, and is still a rotation player for the Wizards. Evan Turner is a 2-way player who was averaging 18 PPG for Philly at the time of the trade.
I see what you're saying, and I think this is a legit trade to consider in the off-season. Mid-season there are a lot of risks you're not mentioning, namely chemistry. Lance is a screwball and has had problems with coaches and teammates every place in his basketball career. Taj seems to be the exact opposite. A real bro. There's also the issue of picking up Thibs' defensive schemes midseason without any practice time. Andre Miller played less than 15 mpg last year with the Wiz. He was an end-of-bench guy. The Turner trade is a good example of what I was talking about, namely that trading established rotation/lockerroom players on a contender midseason is risky business. The trade coincided with the Pacers nose dive, and many people attributed part of it to losing Danny Granger, who was an elderly statesmen in the locker room. The trade didn't end well for the Pacers.
End of the bench guys don't play 15 minutes a game. In a lot of games, they don't play at all. The Pacers made the ECF. Lance is a screwball, but in Indy he matured. The Bulls seem to have the kind of organization that can handle turning boys into men. And ZBo was a screwball, too. Now look at him.
This is a fun trade to talk about but it's not going to happen because of Doug McDermott. GarPaxDorfThibs aren't going to admit defeat on those big draft day moves for at least one, probably two seasons.
Chris Broussard @Chris_Broussard Source: Hornets haven't received good offers for Lance Stephenson. Have decided to "keep him for now." Indiana, Miami among teams w/interest